I shoot 'behind the scenes' material for TV shows, and one thing I hear quite frequently in the production office are 'Extra's' trying to bump their pay level up to 'day player' . " The director said as they bring in the birthday cake that I should step out of the way to let [ Named actor] pass.. so that's scripted piece of action !! ".

I don't blame them, it can quadruple your wages. Production staff tend to be very aware of the rules and what is a legitimate claim.

I am unaware of the commercial rules, other than they used to like to pay actors huge buy out fees , to cover international and future use.